Monday, October 19, 2009

I am new to the blogging world, but not new to collecting. For the past year or so I have spent plenty of time on ebay and elsewhere educating myself about baseball cards, looking to buy at bargain values and expand my collection. I've found that collecting for monetary value without being willing to shell out some cash is extremely difficult and that the time spent doing so is more valuable than the speculated profits of future sales. Most times I ended up confusing what I valued with what was actually valuable anyway.

For the longest time, I collected baseball cards and valued each and every one with the thinking that they each held monetary value that needed to be protected. Recently I realized: first, that most of mine are in the mid-low range price value and even the super stars are only worth a dollar or two, and secondly the majority of them meant very little to me and even a trade that wasn't completely fair -in which I lost some monetary value- could give me more enjoyment than the current pile of cardboard that I have amassed.

Now I'm looking to collect with a focus on what I like. Of course money still plays a role; a Ken Griffey Jr. auto for a flashy Paul O'Neill that I'm missing is still not a good move on my part, and even a Derek Jeter rookie auto would be hard pressed to separate me from $100.

So here are some guidelines I decided on:

1. I want to focus on products in the middle range in price, rather than each year's standard set *

2. I want to have some continuity in what I collect.

- Specific players

- Medium sized & smaller sets

- Specific insert sets

3. Trading away the cards that I personally don't value

*: When I say "low middle range" I mean sets like A&G, Heritage, Goudey, and Chrome. Products over and around $100 for a hobby box are a little pricy for me.

I'm a Yankees fan, so I tend to favor my team when collecting, but there are tons of players from other teams that I'm more than happy to get cards of.

Some players that I truly collect are:

- Derek Jeter

- Ichiro

- Mariano Rivera

- Joe Mauer

- Lance Berkman

- Robinson Cano

- Ryan Zimmerman

Some retired player that I collect are:

- Mickey Mantle (new and old) hard not to, they're everywhere

- Paul O'Neill

- Don Mattingly

- Bernie Williams

- Wade Boggs

Some newer players I collect (rookies in 2006-2009):

- Phil Hughes

- Joba Chamberlain

- Evan Longoria

- Tim Lincecum

- Hanley Ramirez

Others That I casually collect:

- Alex Rodriguez

- Mike Mussina

- Andy Pettitte

- Alfonso Soriano

- Mark Teixeira

- Melky Cabrera

- Ian Kinsler

- Nick Markakis

As I go along this list may thin out and/or have some new names added.

I'm definitely looking to trade cards. I look for any of the above players, but I enjoy any cool looking cards of star players (I haven't completely parted with my eclectic collecting). If you see anything you like, leave a comment or shoot me an email and make an offer. Also, feel free to request cards from the players that I collect, I may have some doubles. When it comes to trading, I collect certain players but I am willing to trade for an eclectic pile of interesting cards, not team or player specific. I am more interested in collecting specific sets and insert sets.

As soon as I can get my scanner working I'll start posting up-dates on my collecting.